Long Journey Into the Night
by C.S. Bernard
Summary: What began as another clash with Eggman ended in a disastrous defeat. The world is in its gravest need. Can Sonic save the world and himself from Eggman's monstrous scheme? Fan-Prologue to Sonic Unleashed. K-Plus for violence and minor language. SEGA.


**North of the Mystic Ruins**

**Day 2**

**Coordinated Universal Time, Offset -8 Hours; 10:37**

THE winds blew stronger that day; for good reason. Aside from the natural gusts of wind that would blow through the forest, there was a foot-runner that kicked up a lot of turbulence in his wake. On occasion, his speed would breach the sound barrier and knock down bushes and scatter the woodland creatures that were unfortunate enough to be near the cannonball's path. Anyone close by could easily realize that it was Sonic the Hedgehog. That is, for those who did know of him they realized who it was that caused such an upset.

For those not "in the know," Sonic the Hedgehog was a young male hedgehog, roughly half the height of an adult human. As far as hedgehogs go, that is rather tall. More outstanding than his height was the fact that his fur and quills were blue, with hairless arms, abdomen and muzzle. Bipedal, Sonic possessed that other traditionally human trait: linguistics. Though, he rarely spoke much, except when with friends whom he could chatter with over a good meal or in the rare moments when he felt like he should sit still for a rest. As those who would be happy to tell you, Sonic had earned his appellation from his super-speed that was known to reach a velocity greater than the speed of sound. Addicted to the thrills of super-speed and with a desire to experience life as one grand adventure, Sonic always loved his freedom and happiness and, by mutual empathy, always sought to give that kind of liberty – or rather allow that room for liberty – in the lives of others. A self-styled freedom fighter that would gladly helps rescue a victim from a petty mugger as much as he would liberate whole nations and worlds from imposing despots.

That morning, Sonic poured out as much speed as he needed, which was quite a bit. He had somewhere very important to be. His feet pounded the ground, his body leaned into the wind that dared to slow him down, and his heart anxiously raced with the knowledge that something wicked hung overhead.

* * *

**The Southern Regions: Unknown Location**

**Day 1**

**CUT-4; 16:56**

"Dr. Eggman is up to something big, Sonic."

"When isn't he?"

"I'd cut back on the smart-tongue, Sonic. G.U.N. sent us to find you, to tell you that whatever he's planning it's bigger than anything he's ever planned before."

"Huh. Well, Shadow, considering that it is you _and_ Rouge, I guess I do have good reason to believe you. So, what have you got?"

"As I was saying, it seems our old pal Eggman has packed up his operations and left."

"He left? Left what: the region, the country, the continent?"

"Try the earth."

He whistled, "Wow. That is pretty 'gone.' So, where'd he go?"

"Well, he hasn't left earth entirely. He's still orbiting the planet. We suspect that his new base of operations, an orbiting space station, is behind the moon. Or, he may even have a base of operations on the moon, itself."

"You mean you don't know?"

"Hey, you should be glad we can tell you he's left the planet. Of course, it was easy to detect his warships, a small fleet, which left the atmosphere almost a week ago."

"He's been in outer space for a week? And it's taken you this long to tell me?"

"Even with chaos control, you can be… elusive."

"Well, Shadow, I'm sure you can relate to a guy that's always on the go."

"To some extent; not all of us are nomads."

"Heh… Guilty as charged."

"Would you quit making a game out of this? Eggman's already launched several attacks around the world, in the past twenty-four hours!"

"Okay, okay, easy. I'm all ears."

"Thank you, Sonic. As Shadow was explaining, the Doctor has been using his orbital spaceships to drop off small armies of his robots all around the globe. Right now, those armies have G.U.N. all tied up. The only reason they could spare us was because they knew we'd have the better chance of finding you. That, as Shadow already explained, was a little more difficult than we figured it would be."

"Okay. So, in short, in your own little way, you're asking me to help."

"I was wondering if you'd get the point."

"Cloak and dagger, through and through: that's you, alright."

"Ha-ha. At least it's a living. Maybe not honest, all the time, but it's a living."

"So, will I be accompanying you two, or the other way around?"

"Neither."

"What?"

"We've already told you the situation. Eggman's attacks have everyone running in circles trying to stop one attack, only to rush off and intercept another one elsewhere. We can't even find an opportunity to get any missiles or spacecraft up there ourselves, otherwise, we'd have already taken care of it."

"So, wait. I'm on my own on this one?"

"Exactly, Central City's been hit twice, so Shadow and I are very busy, along with the G.U.N. Capitol Defense Division. Not to mention Knuckles who's busy with his own invasion on Angel Island, the Chaotix have gone to help him, and what G.U.N. troops that could be spared for that defense, as well. Meanwhile, the rest of G.U.N. is either in the middle of a battle zone, on relief duty, or standing in reserve, hoping that another attack won't come."

"What's the matter, Sonic? Lose a little of that confidence?"

Sonic remembered that he smiled and simply turned in the opposite direction and ran off.

He could have sworn that he heard Shadow quip, "I was afraid of that."

* * *

**Near the Mystic Ruins-Station Square Train Station**

**Day 2**

**CUT-8; 10:47**

Sonic had run and run for hours, with the intent to deal with his archrival's latest mad scheme. But, first, he had to stop off with an old friend. Sonic was glad to see him, already in his bi-plane in the midst of preparations for take-off for who knows where, but Sonic was sure that his friend would be on the search for him. He skidded to a stop, just outside the small house/workshop that his friend called home and shouted to him. "Tails!"

Miles "Tails" Prower, a young lad of little more than eight years old, was a true mechanical prodigy capable of building vehicles and other machines that were the envy of any adult in the same field. Young and naïve, though, he always needed Sonic to be the single greatest inspiration and friend in his life. Still, the boy was by no means all-brain. A skilled fighter in his own right, Miles has been known to take on combatants with weapons, wit, and hand-to-hand combat. Not unlike Sonic, he was a bi-pedal "animal-person," though a fox, rather than a hedgehog, with light orange-yellow fur, with white patches on his muzzle, torso, and tail tips. That is no mistake or tall tale, by the way. The boy had _two_ tail tips, since he, of course had two tails, which earned him his preferred nickname of "Tails." Quite capable with his extra appendage, the young fox-lad had been known to use them to act as rotary-blades, of sorts, for forward land-based propulsion – often to keep up with Sonic's lower speeds – and helicopter style limited flight. Yes, Tails was a very special friend of Sonic's.

"Tails!" Sonic called again, over the roar of the _Tornado_. The _Tornado_, I am sorry to only mention this just now, was a bi-plane that Sonic had received as a gift, years ago, that allowed him to travel to areas that he would not normally reach by foot. The plane was then given to Tails, once Sonic took him on as his protégé and friend.

"Sonic!" the younger partner shouted to his friend and hero, "I was just coming to look for you! Have you heard?"

"You mean about Eggman? Yeah; I just got the low-down from Rouge and Shadow."

"Well, I heard about it on the news. I was just about to go looking for you."

"Change plans, then," Sonic said with an eager smirk, as he jumped onto the plane's lower wing, "now, we're going to look for Chaos Emeralds."

"Sounds good to me!"

The engine roared to take-off speeds, just as Sonic climbed up onto the top wings of the plane and assumed a wing-walker's position. Once in place, the pilot let off the break, and taxied the plane down the camouflaged runway that ran perpendicular from Tails's workshop. As the plane got onto the runway, Tails increased speeds until, once they left the runway and were off the cliff near Tails's house, the two heroes were airborne and off to defeat an old foe that Sonic had known longer than he had known Tails.

* * *

**Earth, Lower Orbit**

**Day 2**

**CUT+0; 23:25**

DOCTOR Ivo Robotnik probably would have been one of the world's greatest scientists, or rather one of the "good-natured" ones. No one knows for sure what did it. His checkered past is often indiscernible, not unlike Sonic the Hedgehog's. What is known is that his grandfather, Professor Gerald Robotnik, had been a great inspiration to the young Ivo and started him on his chosen career of science and robotics – his field of expertise. What might have been known about him has been deleted from all international law-enforcement records – perhaps the result of various hacking and virus attacks that the Doctor launched against his enemies. Place of birth, parents, fingerprints, DNA, past associates and relations, all of them, gone or forgotten, save for Professor Gerald Robotnik and his granddaughter – Ivo's cousin – Maria Robotnik. The only known details about the Doctor originate with his debut as "Dr. Eggman." Since his explosive arrival on the world's grand stage, some years ago, he has been nothing but a terror and nuisance to people around the world. The first person to have to deal with Eggman being none other than Sonic the Hedgehog, who, up until that fateful day on remote South Island, had been a shiftless, jobless vagrant who turned his natural skills into a superhero's trade. Since then, the two well-known unknowns have battled each other for the freedom of the planet or its total domination.

Perhaps, on paper and in abstract terms, Dr. Eggman's plans to construct a global utopia, based on technological improvement and technocratic ideals would seem to be a perfect, well-intentioned rescue mission to save civilization from self-destruction. But, the road to perdition is paved with good intentions. Thus, in practice Eggman's scheme has been soundly denounced as a madman's fevered, impossible dream. Even worse, what good intentions that may lie in the scheme are overshadowed by Eggman's domineering personality that has – by all accounts – oscillated between childish self-indulgence and psychotic megalomania. In short, Eggman was the classic case of a man driven to the brink of insanity by his own genius. Though not a reckless murderer, one of the few redeeming qualities in the Doctor's character, he has been known to cause ruin and despair for those that stand in his way – sometimes acting as a creature worse than death. For all those reasons and more, Sonic, whose personality was a stark contrast to Eggman's, has fought and will always fight Eggman's grandiose fool's errand.

At the time of the story to be told, Eggman had, indeed, launched himself into space. For a week, he had used a small space armada to harvest minerals from comets and meteors that whistled by Earth to acquire the minerals and resources he needed to add to his vast hordes of robotic soldiers. From his orbital fleet, he had begun an impressive "invasion" of the world, with his most recent line of attack robots that were largely bullet-proof and heavily armed. Simple brigades of Eggman's robots could take on whole divisions of standard human armies, even with the help of advanced robotics of their own. G.U.N., the Guardian Units of Nations, the earth's premier self-defense force, had the firepower and manpower to stem Eggman's attacks, but only to some degree. At their best, they could defend the earth, but not once did they have the luxury to make a counter-attack. Eggman's constant, global hit and run assaults had thrown much of the world's defenses and inhabitants into disarray. Worse, Eggman's robots were easily replaced as more and more were made ready by the hour, while the trained humans that made up the larger part of the earth's defenses were infinitely more valuable and harder to come by. Their saving grace came in the robots that could be fielded against Eggman's. Though, on many levels, the G.U.N. robots were admittedly inferior to Eggman's, the strategy used to deploy them helped to even the playing field. The earth's truly great defenders were the super-powered individuals that lived amongst the average population; particularly Sonic the Hedgehog.

"Analyze combat field reports from sectors Q5, W2, E9, R9, T4 and Y3."

"Field reports for selected sectors show positive results; enemy forces minimal due to overextended resources; special targets yellow, red, pink, black, purple, and gray are reported as active in all sectors."

"Is yellow operating _with_ anyone else?"

"Affirmative; yellow last sighted as operating with special target pink in sector T4."

"What of blue?"

"Negative; though sighted in sectors W, E, R and T earlier, priority target blue has remained undetected in the past hour."

"Interesting; keep me posted."

Eggman was only mildly troubled by the missing-in-action status of "blue." However, his plan had run smoothly, thus far, with some portions ahead of schedule. Absolutely nothing had interfered, save for the planned resistance, which of course, was to be dealt with via contingencies, backed by further contingencies. For once, things seemed in the clear, as if this was truly it: victory. Though the earth below looked peaceful, Eggman knew it to be in the midst of a violent upheaval that he, himself, had initiated in order to wash away all malformed notions of society and progress in order to establish "true enlightenment." Still, with regard to the giant blue sphere that invigorated the Doctor like a toy ball excites a child, Eggman could not help but indulge himself in his accomplishments. He leaned back in the chair of his command console inside the bridge of his flagship and heaved up a hearty laugh, near giddy at long-awaited success.

"Priority target blue detected."

"Huh?"

KA-BOOM!!

The Doctor's attention went from the eco-sphere off the bow of his space-battleship and squinted at the tiny, lone figure on the foredeck. It was hard to miss him: a spindly chap that stood in front of an enormous crater that pock-marked the ship and boiled over with flames and sparks within the ship's artificial atmosphere. Yes, it was him; "priority target blue," Sonic the Hedgehog, himself.

"Always so impatient," Eggman grumbled. Alarm sirens had already begun to sound off.

Meanwhile, at the forefront of the flagship, Sonic assessed his situation.

One of me, lots of them.

There was really no other way to phrase it. It was very fortunate that he had been able to use aerial units to reach the edges of the outer atmosphere. From there, a super-fast sprint along the radio tower of another Eggman vessel gave Sonic just enough of a "run and jump" to reach escape velocity, land on a space-based Eggman robot and hijack his way to the main battleship. It all seemed so easy in retrospect, but it always did. History's hindsight always made the winner look like they were _going_ to win, anyway. The future, on the other hand, was less forgiving in the odds.

Still, Sonic thought, I guess they need all the help they can get. He smirked.

In a flash, Sonic raced across the ship's deck, up ahead were numerous Egg Fighters, all armed and dangerous. But, before he got to them, Sonic immediately saw the wall of missiles, bullets, and energy blasts that roared at him from the turrets aboard the ship. Sonic learned a long time ago that he was much faster – and smarter – than any bullet or missile. Why, he even played games with guns to the point that he would catch bullets just to show off. He'd like to see stage magicians do _that_ for real. But, given his circumstance, to catch bullets, while entertaining, would distract from his situation at hand. Especially since Eggman, also, learned of that stunt of Sonic's and had always increased the number of his firearms every time he planned to engage Sonic in battle. Of course, many of the guns that were turned at Sonic that day were actually ship-to-ship weapons that were too unwieldy to hit such a small, highly evasive target. To use them on Sonic was a sign of the Doctor's paranoia whenever he dealt with his arch-foe. Or, it could have been simple overkill. Eggman may not have delighted in bloodshed, but when he had made up his mind that something should be dead, it might as well be vaporized. The ship's "marines" were next.

Though the oceanic nature of Eggman's battleship was not in play, the fact that it still used "soldiers" and "sailors" was evident in the fact that, as Sonic came amidships he was greeted by a battalion of Eggman's latest Egg Fighter robots. At least the name was better than "Egg Pawn," Sonic smiled broadly as he closed with the robots while they opened up with small arms fire. Sonic was somewhat disappointed, though. They were neither much smarter nor faster than the previous Egg Pawns. He was sure Eggman could give him a college-level lecture on all the subtle nuances and differentiations of the current and older generation robots, but that was for the classroom, not the battlefield.

Sonic's amusement was Eggman's irritant. Fortunately for the Doctor, his guns and soldier-droids had preoccupied Sonic long enough for him to put his latest combat battle-suit in action. Eggman fancied himself something of a warrior-king in modern times and trappings, as well warrior-poet, humanitarian, gentleman, and many other accolades that he was all too prepared to ascribe to his "venerable" personage. However, in his role as warrior-scientist, the Doctor always took pride in his ability to meet and surpass a problem directly. Perhaps, that day, he would finally "solve" Sonic.

Sonic recognized Eggman atop his personal combat vehicle, a hulking brute of a robot that looked like an Egg Fighter with quadruple everything: strength, speed, durability, etc. In many ways, he respected Eggman for that personal touch. Though not a prime physical specimen, Sonic's enemy could always be counted on to "go the extra mile" in his own way; not unlike himself. More than Shadow or Knuckles, Eggman was yin to Sonic's yang and he knew that. There was little time to think on this, though, as the robot's wrist mounted .60-caliber machine guns sent their deadly payloads in Sonic's direction. Over, under, round again: this was more of a challenge. Sonic had to move more carefully to avoid Eggman's computer-assisted aim. The bullets came a little faster, as well. Eggman _has_ been doing his homework, Sonic mused. This was made all the more apparent when shoulder and back mounted missile launchers were unsheathed. Things were about to get tricky: massive artillery and simple machine gun fire were easier to overcome, but machine-gun fire, plus laser-guided missiles, as well as potential Egg Fighter reinforcements simply made _moving_ a hazard. Sonic needed to re-open some of the cluttered air-space. Perhaps using the Doctor's ordnance against him was a good idea?

Eggman watched as Sonic darted away down a nearby corridor in the ship's control tower. Of all the things that Sonic could do, Eggman actually hated it when he would pull that sort of maneuver: running away. In a way, Eggman hated a "quitter." Nor did he like the notion of retreat. In a bizarre sense of honor or machismo that no one could readily understand, when Eggman wanted to settle something, he wanted it settled right then. Perhaps it was the wont of his more immature tendencies. Regardless, he would bring that "cur" to heel. The right hand of the combat-suit shot forward on rocket-thrusters, tethered back to the wrist by a giant cable.

Sonic reveled in the chaos and destruction he caused, in the name of good, of course. Being destructive and mischievous had its place, after all. A missile struck here and took out the power grid to several sections of the ship. Another struck there and knocked out the secondary communications hub to the 2nd Egg Fleet Squadron. Yes, deconstructing a destructive force was very constructive. Not to mention fun.

The game came to an abrupt halt, however, when Sonic saw what looked like a mechanical hand lunge out of the smoke and fire of the disheveled hallway. In a split second his demeanor shifted from joyful carnage to off-balance shock. Before he could make any adjustment in path or simply speed up, the lumbering claw snatched up the hedgehog in a firm, unyielding grip and activated its pulley mechanism that caused it to recoil with jarring force and return to his former place with a prisoner in tow. Sonic struggled in vain the entire, albeit short, trip. An unannounced halt broke Sonic's concentration for a moment. It was then that Sonic noticed that he was looking up into Eggman's face behind a bullet-resistant dome. Eggman sneered as Sonic scowled.

"You've got nowhere to run, now, Sonic."

There was no response, except that the scowl turned up into a grin. Though, really, it was more of an uncompromising, righteous grin.

It was a smirk.

Sonic's eyes slid shut as he focused a moment.

Chaos is that word we ascribe to most anything, really. So long as it is the antithesis of what we take for "order" or "normal." Disquiet, energetic, raucous, movement: the dictionary and thesaurus are well-armed to describe chaos. Thus, it fits the disjointed and unpredictable nature of chaos to actually be concrete, as well as abstract. Enter the Chaos Emeralds, ancient baubles highly valued for their sheer amounts of unrivaled power. When brought into play the Chaos Emeralds defy all expectations: turning sorrow into joy, triumph into defeat and tragedy into hope. They have no set purpose, they simply are. Whole nations fought for and were destroyed by these gemstones, in the name of acquiring more power. Such was the fate of the Knuckles Clan of Echidnas: the same Clan that gave its name to its only living descendant. That warring atmosphere that follows the gems around transcends time and has come down to the modern era. What Eggman has done to acquire those treasures; how Knuckles has tried so hard to protect them; how often Sonic has had to resort to them… So many people fighting over them… Absurdly enough: in the name of "peace."

As the person to collect all seven of the mystical gems, Sonic had the limited ability to summon them – not unlike how Amy might summon a Piko-Piko Hammer. And summon them, he did.

"What!" Eggman's surprise was either wholly justified or entirely not. In a panic, he brought the other robot's hand to clasp Sonic. He had to be stopped. Eggman would have to crush him. Eggman _had_ to crush him.

It was far too late.

With a triumphant shout, Sonic was bathed in a blinding light that sent shockwaves in all directions. With the blast went the robot's reinforced arms, right up to the elbows, as well as the bullet-resistant dome and one of several chest-mounted spotlights. In their place hovered Sonic who had transcended his mundane – if a speedster can be classed as mundane – form and became something, someone, more: Super Sonic. Fur that was blue brilliantly shined gold, cool green eyes hardened into fiery red orbs and an aura of pure electricity flowed throughout him. Time seemed to stop for the slightest pause. But, in a frightening rush, time roared back into motion and slipped into higher gear.

Super Sonic skewered the robot's chest with a fierce and fearsome dive right into and through it. Already severely damaged, this completely crippled the combat-suit. Eggman had already seen this scenario enough and he knew his wisest course of action; his only course left open.

"Time to go!"

Eggman hated to do it, but he was going to do it, anyway: retreat. The Eggmobile, Eggman's all-purpose central control unit and primary, was legendary for its versatility and durability. But, in this instance, Eggman was glad he designed it for extreme speed. The craft ejected from the combat-droid and rocketed away at breath-taking speeds. With a good lead and rush through one of the emergency corridors, Eggman was happy to escape what was sure to be another catastrophic scene of destruction. From long experience, Eggman knew that when Super Sonic appeared, there was next to nothing that could stop him. That was why it was absolutely horrifying to glance over his shoulder and see a blinding streak of golden light speed toward him. The Doctor let out a short gasp and flipped an emergency switch on his hovercraft's console. Behind him, a long series of blast doors slammed shut. It was nowhere near enough to stop Super Sonic, but it might just slow him down long enough for the Doctor to pull off another of his million-to-one escapes.

Sonic was not surprised or deterred by the blast doors as they slammed shut in rapid order before him. They may have shaved off split-seconds of his pursuit time, but the small burst of energy that Sonic used to tear through them like butter aided in gutting the ship's corridors and adjacent sectors. Since the path that Eggman chose to take led from the control tower, down through the areas where the main engines were, the deep gashes that Sonic tore into the corridors and connected rooms were highly effective and soon doomed the ship to massive internal damage and subsequent detonation which spread through the ship unopposed, due to the sudden and magnificent damage being too great to detect fast enough. In moments the chain-reaction obliterated entire aft-section of the ship, while the rest burbled and rumbled with lesser explosions that soon completely crippled and scuttled the vessel. With the flagship destroyed and Eggman on a full-tilt escape-route, it would be no time until Sonic completely severed the entire nervous system of the entire Eggman war machine.

As he gained on Eggman, Sonic caught flak from a nearby light star-cruiser that intensely bombarded him with its main guns. Rather than detour and give Eggman the benefit of more time, Sonic decided to take care of the offensive warship head-on, literally. In a lightning-fast zigzag pattern, the electrically charged hedgehog incised the ship's turrets and detonated the magazines which doomed the ship to a fate similar to its predecessor. There was no time to revel in the small triumph. I have a bigger egg to crack, Sonic thought.

Eggman was not entirely unreasonable. Sonic knew this. Eggman had counter-attacked the liquid life-form Chaos, after it had used all of the rage of thousands of years to devour the energies of the Chaos Emeralds and transform into the terrible Perfect Chaos that destroyed a great deal of Station Square. Later, Eggman was integral to the saving of the Earth during the Space Colony ARK incident that threatened to destroy the entire planet in a hellish fireball. While it was true that Eggman had been the key instigator to these incidents, among many others, the Doctor at least came to see the need to prevent total annihilation as a result atrocities he had set in motion. In these instances, in accord with his personal beliefs, Sonic had let Eggman "off the hook" after his efforts at redemption. No further battle, no victor, no loser; just a postponement until next they met. But, this would not be the case, that day. Eggman had caused enough heart-ache and grief, with no redeeming counterbalances to offset them, a fact compounded by the Doctor's long history of one-man-war with the world. No. Today, Sonic thought, Eggman would face justice.

Eggman's hovercraft roared into the landing bay of a communications satellite that orbited along the outer edge of his space-fleet. Since he was on full-power a sudden stop was out of the question and instead the Doctor crash-landed. It was enough to jar him from his seat and – thanks to the fail-safe in the ship's protective dome – dump him out onto the floor of the satellite's central hub-room in a crumpled heap. At last, the Doctor groaned in his head, sanctuary.

CRASH!!

It was too much to hope for that the sudden intruder was not whom Eggman thought it was. But, still, he risked a glance toward the hole in the floor, then up to the figure that levitated over it. Eggman stuttered in fear, "S-Sonic!"

For a brief moment, Sonic regarded Eggman, minus his warships, without his robot battle-suit, and even deprived of his Eggmobile. Though taller than himself, Sonic realized just how small and weak Eggman seemed, especially given his – Sonic's – near godly power at the time. He gently floated down to where the Doctor sat on his knees. Eggman seemed to slowly dissolve into a pitiful wreck.

"N-now, Sonic… I'm sorry. You know how it is… I've never been able to quell my urges to do these things! It's my fault and I realize that! M-maybe I could seek, help, you know… If you'll go easy on me, I can get therapy or something and get rid of all these nasty thoughts. Eh?" It was almost offensive to Sonic's sense of dignity that the Doctor completely dropped to the floor with his pleading hands over his head, in total submission, "I can change! I swear it! J-just, please, give me a chance!" He sounded on the verge of tears.

Sonic could not help the twinge of sarcasm that crept up the back of his throat and into his voice, given the complete change that overtaken this man who, mere minutes before, tried to destroy him with an arsenal fit for genocide. "Come on, Eggman. Don't embarrass yourself. You tried and failed and now you're going to jail, where you belong. You can blubber to the prison shrinks about how you weren't hugged enough or how you were bullied in school. I wouldn't doubt that you'd lie about that kind of thing, but at least you'll be paying back your debt to society."

Eggman shuffled a little from his kowtow position and straightened up enough to where his pince-nez sunglasses caught Sonic's reflection in the lenses. As he beheld the hedgehog with his eyes, his hand held something else. In a snap, Eggman's depressed features flipped into malicious joy when his fingers clenched and his thumb activated a small transmitter that he had slipped out his jacket's cuff. In a victorious cheer he shouted, "Gotcha!" Panels in the floors flipped up, machinery dropped from the ceiling, high-tech seemed to materialize from out of the thin air and quickly filled the formerly vacant room.

Sonic was completely caught off guard. He made an effort to dart to one side as the last of several diodes snapped into place in a full circle around the bewildered hedgehog. Sonic intended to use his Super Sonic powers to slice through the machinery in a blink of the eye, but he was prevented by an intense wall of energy.

Eggman knew that the entire space station's energy supply would hold Super Sonic for only a few seconds. He had to initiate the next phase of his plan, as the tile he stood on slowly elevated out of the floor on silent anti-gravity thrusters. He watched, though, for a scant moment as his incredibly powerful foe struggled against the inverse energy-grid that held him like a mouse in a cat's paws; it was enough to send him into a mad cackle at how everything had gone according to plan.

Sonic could not break his near-invisible bonds that seemed to tighten the more he struggled against them. It was then that he noticed Eggman's high-pitched shrieks of laughter. However, what soon seized his attention were the enormous energy blasters that dangled down out of the ceiling and targeted him. He writhed and pulled with all his might, but there was no escape, it seemed. Before he could continue the vain attempt, Sonic was concussed by such massive amounts of electricity as to char-broil an elephant whole in mere seconds. The end result, though, was much more serious. In a bright flash, Sonic reverted back to his normal state and the Chaos Emeralds reappeared around him; emeralds and hedgehog continued to float in mid-air as the machine continued to pour excruciating electrical currents into Sonic's vastly under-powered body. Perhaps the only thing that saved him from electrocution was the fact that the emeralds were more conducive to the bolts of energy that bounced around inside the machine, though Sonic also conducted the electrical flow through his body, he did not bear the brunt of it. This was not enough comfort, though, to keep him from screaming in agony.

"Chaos Emeralds acquired," the same computerized voice that informed Eggman of Sonic's arrival declared, suddenly. "Commencing injection procedures, now."

The space station trembled as, outside, the camouflaged "satellite" revealed the machinery hidden within. The long cylindrical shaft that pointed toward the earth split open and slid into a different configuration as energy amplifiers and conduits aligned into an impressive laser array. The mass amounts of electrical power that filled the awesome device already sizzled and crackled across the complicated circuitry as the main charging station hummed to life and slowly built toward an intense roaring sound. Meanwhile, inside, Eggman's hover platform had inserted itself into the master control hub and the Doctor gleefully laughed as he leaned over the control panel. To his right there was a large red button surrounded by seven small lights that individually flickered on one by one.

Eggman roared, "At last! This has been a long time in coming, but victory is finally _mine_!" Sonic, for once, was unable to make witty counter-remarks. Instead, he continued to seethe in pain.

"Charging complete," the dutiful computer voice announced as the last light snapped on next to the main trigger-switch.

Eggman, as if pounding a spike with a sledgehammer drew back his hand forcefully slammed his finger down on the button, "Fire!"

The generators aboard the station went from their roar to a piercing shriek as the main gun emitted a sharp light that flared into the intensity of a bolt of energy equal to the power of a sun. A pillar of light shot down through the atmosphere searing through the air and pierced into the planet itself.

* * *

**Empire City, United Federation**

**Day 2**

**CUT-5; 16:59**

AMY Rose, a young pink female counterpart to Sonic thought of herself as the perfect girlfriend for Sonic. Like many young, exuberant people – male or female – Amy Rose had "fallen in love" with Sonic the Hedgehog from afar, not unlike most fans and admirers do when someone becomes famous. However, unlike most, Amy was possessed of abilities that bordered on the supernatural. Most evident was the fact that she was one of the rare few that could genuinely read tarot cards – a lost art in modern times. Thus gifted with a strong sense of "intuition," as she called it, Amy had been given a leg up on most other fans and admirers in regards to her object of affection. Whether knowingly or unknowingly, or both equally, Amy Rose often found herself in Sonic's path, much to her delight and Sonic's chagrin. This had put her in harm's way, as well, from which Sonic had been known to rescue her, though Amy was capable of rescuing herself. Aside from the few intangible abilities to "foreknow" _certain_ events and situations in her life, Amy also possessed reasonable fighting skills and a strong will that made her quite formidable, in the same sense that "professionals are predictable, amateurs are dangerous." The most dangerous thing about Amy was her famed Piko-Piko Hammer, a weapon that she could conjure up from no one knows where, in any size or any number of times that she would wish. For all these reasons and more, Amy, in spite of a loving and caring nature, could come off as borderline neurotic at best or mildly psychotic at worst, especially when Sonic was in question. These were the main reasons, aside from his love of a bachelor's life, that Sonic could never bring himself to reciprocate Amy's advances.

That evening, Amy was wrapped up in her side-line business of being a hero. Though she would have preferred Sonic's company during a fight, she was still glad she had Tails. Even better was the fact the fight was over. What few robots that had not been destroyed by her hammer, or any number of Tails's weaponry, had gone offline. With a casual tap of her Piko-Piko Hammer, another Egg Fighter tilted over and lay motionless on the ground. She smiled, pleased with herself, and slung the hammer over her shoulder. She turned to face Tails as he wiped a little sweat off his forehead.

"Well," Amy beamed, "looks like Sonic's done it, again."

"Yeah," Tails replied as he straightened up a little, Amy's happiness drifted over to him, "we can always count on him."

"How long do you think it'll be before he gets back from space?"

No response.

"Tails?"

Amy noted the distant and shocked look in the young fox's eyes. They were focused on the horizon. Amy turned to face the direction that Tails stared so vacantly into. Soon, her expression matched that of Tails.

The sky seemed to open and pour out a vast, unnatural light that struck down somewhere else on the planet. Even though it looked to be thousands of miles away, there was no missing it. As best as Tails figured in his mental calculations it was so massive and bright that it could be visible to the entire hemisphere.

"No way that's a good sign."

No sooner had the words left his lips than Tails, and Amy, saw the light disappear. Both were silent for quite some time – though it had been only a second or two. Finally, Amy spoke, "What was _that_?"

Tails mumbled, "I don't know."

"Well, do you think it has something to do with Sonic? Do you think that-" Tails's hand flew up into Amy's face and silenced her.

"Sh! Do you hear that?"

Amy's ears wiggled a little as she strained to catch whatever sound Tails had mentioned. At first there was silence. But, as she waited, there was a low rumble that made its presence known. As she and Tails listened, it grew louder. And louder still. After a few minutes, Amy realized that her legs had begun to wobble. It took her a moment to realize that, though she was filled with a deep foreboding that hovered near mortal dread, she was not under the effects of a panic attack – she would know, she had had a few in her early days as an acquaintance of Sonic. Though, when the gravity of the situation crashed down on her, Amy felt like she _needed_ a panic attack.

"Earthquake!" Tails shrieked.

The ground heaved and rocked out of control as the seismic vibrations spiked exponentially. Thankful that the city was already evacuated of civilians, Tails and Amy had only themselves to worry about. So, Amy dismissed her hammer and clung to Tails as the young fox tensed his joints and muscles down his pine and into his rear appendages and took flight. As glass and concrete cracked and tumbled down from the skyscrapers, the two had decided that street level was not the place to be. It was dangerous to fly up and through the debris, but once clear, the two were soon safe. At least physically; as Tails pulled them higher into the city skyline and went toward the city limits, they saw something that sank their hearts and crushed their souls.

"Oh my god," Amy mumbled.

* * *

**Near the Master Emerald Shrine, Angel Island**

**Day Three**

**CUT+3; 02:59**

KNUCKLES the Echidna was the last of the Knuckles tribe – a cursed race of echidnas that doomed itself with its vanity and greed – and stood as a counter-point to his people's arrogance. Knuckles bore the albatross of his peoples' crime stoically as the last guardian of their home and prison, Angel Island. When his ancestors dared to anger Chaos, the great god of destruction, they were nearly obliterated by that defender of the Chaos Emeralds and the chao. Regardless of the harshness of his life, Knuckles took pride in his duty, something that had ingrained him with discipline and skill to befit his fast-fading station. This gave purpose to the raw super-strength that he possessed, though one would not suspect him of it. "Short," like Sonic, Knuckles was a red fur and spiked teenage echidna with large powerful hands that could shatter boulders. His deep purple eyes gave off an air of wisdom and sagacity. But, in reality, his vast inexperience with "outsiders" had been a weakness and stumbling block to him his whole life. Whether it had been his failure to see through Eggman's deception that nearly cost him his life and home or his more embarrassing – that is to mean "personal" – inability to comprehend women, most notably Rouge the Bat, Knuckles had often been the "butt of the joke." That was especially true if the jokester were Sonic, someone who often ribbed and annoyed Knuckles simply _because_ they were friends.

The last of Eggman's robots had been rounded up and destroyed. Though he loathed bringing outsiders to his island, Knuckles did know to appreciate the help of others – a very important lesson. A contingent of G.U.N. soldiers had landed and helped to secure the outer perimeter of the Master Emerald shrine – the cursed blessing that secluded Angel Island, Knuckles's home and sanctuary, from the world – while the Chaotix Detective Agency added their skills and strength to the island's defense. True, the Chaotix were a pair of mismatched reptiles and a quirky insect, but somehow they got their job done: almost word for word the motto of Vector the Crocodile, leader of the Chaotix. Regardless, they did a _good_ job and, as Knuckles dumped another Egg Fighter onto the scrap heap he had assembled from the leftover parts, he smiled at how helpful they had been.

"Knuckles," the echidna heard his name as it came the voice of one of several humans that had come on executive order to assist in the defense of the Master Emerald. "A sweep of the island's confirmed it: what hostiles that have not been eliminated have been deactivated." The human, in smudged combat fatigues with an assault rifle and half-depleted ammunition clips, came up to the shorter echidna, removed his helmet and smiled. His face looked a little pale in the moonlight, but his features showed his satisfaction with the mission's accomplishment.

Knuckles returned with a firm, but friendly, smile of his own, "Glad we could help each other out."

"Right," the human – captain of the troop sent out to the island – affirmed. "With the threat neutralized, our orders are to get back to Central City for a debriefing, ASAP. So, don't worry too much about us staying much longer."

"Good. Though I appreciate the assist," Knuckles thumbed at the junk pile nearby, "I wouldn't be much of a guardian for an island of secrets if I let you and your men trample all over it, now would I?"

"Trust me," the captain almost laughed, "before this started up, I was about to get to spend an evening with the missus. I'm just hoping she'll still be awake when I get home."

Knuckles's grin was not a "knowing grin," "Well, I'm hoping you'll be able to leave soon, without much trouble?"

The captain chuckled nervously at the single-minded nature of the echidna, but he did not want to agitate him and simply replied, "Sure, of course."

"Good, I-"

"Captain Richards!"

Human and echidna turned their attention to another human that scrambled up to the small meeting, "We've got a problem."

As the enlisted man caught his breath – brought on by his run and the firefight he had been in some scant while ago – Richards turned to him in all seriousness, "What is it?"

After a few gasps for air, the soldier addressed his superior officer, "HQ just notified us. The Eggman robots have either been neutralized or retreated."

"And that's a problem how?"

"They also said that various sectors reported some sort of massive space-based attack: an energy weapon."

"What?"

The stereophonic effect of both Richards and Knuckles's shouts of shock jarred the soldier somewhat, but he quickly regained his composure, "Yes. Shortly thereafter, various command posts all over the planet reported intense earthquakes and violent eruptions. Everything's in total chaos. Central Command just sent us word to base camp that we are to stay here until further notice."

"What?" Knuckles snarled suspiciously.

"Don't get riled Knuckles. I'm sure it's just a temporary thing."

"It better be."

Yet another interruption came in the voice of a young boy, "Knuckles! Knuckles!!"

"Charmy?"

Charmy Bee, the youngest member of the Chaotix zipped straight up to Knuckles, a look of great concern in his eyes. This was enough to unsettle Knuckles. He knew Charmy; though immature and often clumsy, the bee was not one to scare easily. He was brave and reckless at times, especially for someone so young. So whatever had taken his exuberance was something to of dire proportion.

"What is it Charmy?"

"It's Vector and Espio!"

"What about them?"

"We had just finished smashing up a bunch of the bots and everything. But, suddenly, from out of the trees and grass and _everywhere_ came these… these… **things**!! Vector and Espio held a lot of them off, but they said they needed your help; _right now_!"

"Where are they? And what do these things look like?"

"Like that!"

Knuckles whipped his head around to see where the youth pointed. There it was, on a tree branch. It was an insidious looking creature, no larger than some of the monkeys that were native to the island. Yet this was not a furry primate. Rather the creature was some form of reptile, or at least it _looked_ reptilian. The creature was a dark blue, maybe black in color. It had large empty red eyes, an impressive horn on its snout, long sharp claws – which explained its place on the branch, spindly tendrils that stuck out of its spine, and splotches along its back. It was small, but horrific in appearance; it was certainly nothing that anyone had seen before. Everyone remained silent as the creature plodded about on the branch, its soulless eyes passively rolled in its head as it analyzed its surroundings.

Richards whispered over to Knuckles, "Have you seen anything like that before?"

Before Knuckles could respond the creature turned its head and locked eyes with the small group in the clearing. Suddenly, it let out a terrible shriek and scrambled up the branch, toward the group. As it reached the end of the limb, it jumped forward and soared through the air and continued to emit its harsh shriek all the way. Just as Knuckles moved into a defensive posture a deafening boom erupted from over his head and startled him more than the creature itself. The moment the blast was heard, the airborne creature disappeared in a cloud of smoke and light. All eyes turned to the G.U.N. private, who clutched his combat shotgun up to his shoulder.

"Good shot, Connors," Richards patted the private on the shoulder.

"Thanks, sir."

Everyone had questions that they began asking back and forth all at once, with no one with a clear answer. However, Charmy soon got everyone's attention, "Uh, guys! Those things don't travel alone!"

"What?" Knuckles asked.

Richards bumped Knuckles's shoulder with the back of his hand, "I think he's saying they travel in packs. Like those."

Everyone's eyes went in different directions, but they all saw the same thing. Everywhere they looked there were dozens of creatures just like the one that met its end earlier. They had a hungry look about them, as well.

"Okay," Richards spoke first as he pulled the charging handle on his rifle, "anybody got a plan?"

"What plan?" Knuckles asked. "We fight, simple as that," he growled as he slipped back into the fighting stance he got into, earlier.

"Are you crazy?" Connors asked as he wildly twisted left and right in an attempt to cover as many angles as he could, in case the creatures when on the attack.

"I think he might have a point Knuckles. We're heavily outnumbered here."

Knuckles smirked slightly, "I've had worse."

"Maybe," Richards kept his calm and opted to reason with the echidna vis-à-vis men with responsibilities, "but, what about the Master Emerald?"

"Huh?" Knuckles grunted without taking his eyes off the creatures that cautiously began to creep toward the group.

"You heard the bee, the Chaotix are under attack from these things, too. Now, they show up here. Think about it: all this, plus the strange events going on elsewhere. Do you _not _think that it might have something to do with the Emerald, too?"

"Maybe you're right. But, how do we get back to it?"

"Connors?"

"Sir?"

"We're rear-guard; Knuckles, you and the bee take point."

"I have a name you know; it's Charmy."

"Not entirely, but…"

Richard's never finished the statement as he let fly with lead in various directions, while Connors joined in with military grade buckshot. The creatures returned with wild charges and terrible shrieks as they attacked en masse. Meanwhile, Knuckles ran toward the path that led back to the shrine, all the while throwing earth-shattering punches that disintegrated the creatures on impact in every direction he saw anything that looked unfriendly. Charmy, also, added in with what attacks his small size and lack of combat experience could allow. The moment the path was clear, the two signaled the soldiers and the mad dash toward the Emerald was on.

At least I can get back to the troop, Richards thought. Knuckles's duty is to the Master Emerald, but mine is to my boys.

* * *

**Central City, United Federation**

**Day 2**

**CUT-5; 16:59**

HAVING made mention of Rouge the Bat, earlier, one must explain her back-story – what little is known of it – as well. Rouge, to her credit, has always been a riddle, wrapped inside an enigma, locked inside of a puzzle box and hidden in a dark cave; just the way she prefers to be seen – or, rather, _not_ seen. Even a human would be hard pressed to ignore the physical beauty of the assuredly adult bat-woman. But, if one were wise, they would ignore the physical appearance – voluptuous and seductive – to focus on the cool, calculating mind that operated behind such flirty eyes and attractive charm. Rouge had either given up on morality or had never learned about it early in life and had made a career out of chicanery and deception. As a thief, she had run afoul of legal authorities. However, the high-level nature of her impressive felonies had caused well-positioned officials – some say the President, himself – to either wisely or foolishly take her in as an agent for G.U.N. Such a position made the legal acquisition of high-priced jewelry very rewarding to the suddenly patriotic young woman. Of course, on many assignments, Rouge had been known to "confiscate" and "liberate" enemy financial holdings; though no official record of these acquisitions exist. Yes, Rouge best operated within the shadows. As well as her equally non-heroic partner.

Troubled, confused, and yes, perhaps even mentally unstable are words that came to mind when anyone thought of Shadow the Hedgehog. Perhaps he had been created by Professor Gerald Robotnik as part of a secret immortality experiment. Or, maybe, he was the by-product of an inter-stellar conspiracy to enslave the earth. Or, it just might have been the case that he had been created to act as a tool of revenge, the end result of a mind that had collapsed under stress and anguish. No one knows entirely for sure. Not even Shadow. Some nights, his dreams told him one thing, other nights they told him the opposite. He never could really keep it straight, despite his long journey of self-discovery. In spite of his inability to tell himself _who he had been_, he had made up his mind as to _who he would be_, thanks to a friend he loved like a sister. Maria Robotnik, a fragile young woman who accidentally died at the hands of a confused and frightened military-industrial complex that set Shadow's birth in motion had proven that good, loving people could exist among the "brackish sea of vile and vulgar beings that inhabited the earth." It was for her, regardless of how cruel and disgusting humans tended to be in his eyes, that Shadow had made himself into a defender of earth. Imbued with immortality and incredible powers that allowed him to bend time and space to his will, Shadow used whatever methods he felt best in the name of a "greater good," no matter how ill-defined it might be. On many levels he was, thus, a polar opposite to Sonic's free and joyous spirit. One thing that definitively marked them as two different persons was Shadow's willingness to work for the G.U.N. Even Shadow's hard-bitten cynicism managed to occasionally scoff at the grand cosmic irony of his career choice. But, chose it he did. One consolation was that he and his superior officer, the Supreme Commander of G.U.N. would occasionally share happy stories from happier times, though they were few.

"Pathetic drones," Shadow quipped as he examined the remains of an Egg Fighter's head in a fashion similar to Hamlet when he beheld Yorick, fresh from the grave. He soon dropped the scrap metal and turned to Rouge, nearby, who was speaking into the communicator sewn into her long white gloves.

"Yes sir, the threat's been neutralized." She was silent a moment as she listened to the receiver she held up to her ear. "Apparently Sonic did his part, the robots have been stopped and no reinforcements have been sighted." There was another pause. "I'm glad to hear that. We'll return to Central Command, shortly. Agent Rouge, out."

"Well?" Shadow indifferently asked.

"The Boss says that everything's smoothed out. Sonic's done his part and all of the attacking Eggman robots have either been scrapped or deactivated."

"I still don't see why we had to call him in. I could have handled the entire army, myself."

Rouge scoffed a little, "My, and I thought you were the humble type."

"Humility doesn't win battles."

Rouge rolled her eyes. It was unbelievable to listen to Shadow when he started talk to in such a way. Rouge knew he was powerful. Actually, Rouge knew that Shadow was _very_ powerful. But, he wasn't the one man army that he made himself out to be. As a matter of fact, Rouge did not believe anyone could be a one man army. Nor herself a one woman army; that was why she preferred her more clandestine trade to all of the front-line work that G.U.N. sometimes asked her to perform. She did not mind have anyone else to help do the work or, sometimes, all the work. She just made sure that _she_ got something out of it.

"Come on. You told them that we would be back at HQ soon."

Rouge smiled a little. In spite of himself, Shadow was pitiable – perhaps even a bit loveable. She knew she could not replace Maria, but some small part of Rouge wanted to be there and with Shadow, like the big sister he lost. Though they disgusted each other – a conniving, selfish thief and a brooding, brutish mercenary – they realized that their outcast nature made them unlikely friends; someone they could occasionally confide in, when "the normal people" got under their skin. For Shadow, it was Sonic; for Rouge, it was the one thing that she could not steal. …Best not to dwell on that, Rouge caught herself.

"You're right, let's go," she said.

"Warp or wing?" Shadow flatly queried.

"It's just across town. Let's just hoof it."

Shadow said nothing as his hover-skates kicked on and lifted him an inch off the ground. Rouge began to flap her wings and gained a little altitude. In a few moments, they were soon "gliding" their respective ways back to G.U.N. Central Command.

As they rounded a corner, Rouge caught a glimpse of something off in the distance.

"What in the world?"

The two anti-heroes stopped in the middle of the street to see a light, as bright as the sun, lower down from the skies and strike the earth. The light lingered on the horizon for a few seconds then vanished. It was a curious thing, to be sure. Neither of the two of them spoke for a few moments afterward. Finally, Rouge spoke.

"Was that… Was that the Eclipse Cannon?"

"No. I disabled it, permanently, after the Black Arms Invasion."

"How do you know Eggman didn't repair it?"

"Because, when I break something, there _is_ no repairing it."

There was another silence for a few moments.

Then, Shadow smiled darkly, "Besides, if that were the Eclipse Cannon, we probably would have felt it."

Rouge's face turned to grave concern, suddenly, "Don't count that possibility out, just yet."

Shadow's smile vanished, "What? Why?"

"Because," Rouge stated as agitation rose in her voice, "an earthquake's coming!"

Before Shadow could counter, the ground began to shake and heave violently. It did not take it long to go from perfectly still to an eight-point-five on the Richter scale. Rouge began to flap her wings again.

"Come on, Shadow," she said. "We need to get somewhere safe, quick."

"Right."

The two did not get far when a chunk of stone from the second floor of a department store tumbled loose in the chaos and dropped onto Rouge's shoulder. She cried out in pain as she crashed to the ground.

"Rouge!" Shadow called out as he immediately doubled back to grab his comrade. As he picked her up, he asked, "Are you hurt badly?"

Rouge grunted as her shoulder throbbed with pain while every heartbeat pumped more blood through the damaged capillaries, which showed the extent of the internal damage, externally. "I-I can't fly."

Shadow's lips pulled back into a disappointed frown, "We should have warped to begin with."

"Don't talk about it, just do it," Rouge glared back.

Shadow said nothing as he gently lifted Rouge up into his arms and focused on where he wanted to be. Then, his eyes popped back open as he said, "Chaos Control."

In a flash, they were gone.

* * *

**Guardian Units of the Nations Central Command, Central City Division**

**Day 2**

**CUT-5; 17:15**

SHADOW and Rouge soon found themselves in the main lobby of the G.U.N. headquarters. Because the building was bomb-proofed, it stood up to the earthquake that still raged on much better than civilian buildings. The fact that earthquakes were never supposed to happen in or around Central City also gave an idea of how easy it was to be hit by falling debris from a building. Not to mention how seriously wrong that an earthquake should, suddenly, decide to defy the laws of plate tectonic theory and seismological evidence.

"Soldier!" Shadow barked at a private first class that had braced himself in the doorway during the seismic disturbance. "I need this woman taken to the nearest infirmary. _Now_."

Every G.U.N. soldier knew who Shadow and Rouge were. That was partly why the soldier that Shadow selected was afraid to say what he did, "Uh, S-S-Shadow, sir, I hate t-t-to tell you, b-b-but there's a q-q-q-quake going on, right now!" He stuttered a time or two, and not because the ground was shaking at the time.

"Do I look like I care about that, right now!" Shadow roared above the noise.

"Oh, be quiet, Shadow," Rouge pushed away from him with her good arm. Shadow dropped her to the floor, feet first. She continued, "I can get there, myself." No sooner than she said this, the quake stopped. On steady feet, she straightened up as much as the pain in her shoulder would allow, turned her nose up, and sauntered off, "As I was saying."

When she came close enough to the soldier in the doorframe, he dutifully leaped out of the way and saluted her. Rouge only stopped long enough for him to get out of the way and continued on to the infirmary and left the soldier in mid-salute.

"Follow her," Shadow ordered.

The soldier snapped out of his salute and briskly jogged after Rouge. Shadow started to make his way to the Central Command Relay Room, where the "big-wigs" would be. They _better_ have some answers, Shadow thought.

* * *

**Egg Station; Earth Orbit**

**Day 3**

**CUT+0; 00:01**

THERE was no doubt about it, everything had worked out perfectly. As the energy from the Chaos Emeralds pierced the earth's crust and well into the core, the planet crumbled and cracked and soon began to fly into pieces. Though highly destructive, to be sure, it was not fatal; just as Eggman had calculated. The sight of the entire planet, at its most vulnerable since untold ages had passed since its creation, left Eggman in shock and awe. The light from the earth's core, the great chunks of the planet as they gyrated into a semi-orbit around the core, and the fact that he, Dr. Ivo "Eggman" Robotnik, had set it all in motion was a terrible and beautiful thing to behold. But, what held his interest was the leviathan creature that snaked its way up and out of the planet's core.

It seemed to rival whole continents in size, this creature. Sealed away by generations past through use of the Chaos Emeralds, Eggman had brought about the release of the monstrous being that records had remembered as "Dark Gaia." This creature, ominous and foreboding, was akin to a dragon in shape and appearance, with massive horns that could carry any nation of the world. As the world continued to push apart, the titan wriggled and pushed its way out of the earth's core, like a butterfly that emerges from the cocoon. Eggman found the sight maliciously pleasing.

Sonic could not see what had happened to the world that he and Eggman both called home. Instead, the machinery that had captured and depowered him continued to pour out electrified torture and abuse, even though he had already collapsed to his hands and needs under the weight of the onslaught. It was madness, a fierce burning sensation that caused every fiber of his being to cry out in agony. In his suffering, Sonic reflexively pounded the floor with his palm. He did not know how much more he could endure. He grunted and groaned in his agony. Then…

He growled.

Through all of his flinches and writhing across the floor, Sonic could see the earth via the giant window that peered down at the planet. The energy blast that Eggman used had caused some sort of chain reaction within the earth's core. The planet splintered and fragmented before his eyes.

He failed.

Eggman had won.

No! Sonic's conscious mind grappled with the barrage to his body while his subconscious howled out in righteous fury at what he saw. I can't- let… Eggman win!

The muscles in Sonic's arms rippled and tensed as he tried to stand up to the onslaught. But, as they tensed, they bulged. At first it was merely the sight one would expect to see if Sonic flexed his muscles, which he had. But, the muscles continued to bulge and stretch, which caused Sonic's arms to swell beyond their normal size. The effect spread. Soon Sonic's pectoral and abdominal muscles began to twitch and grow. In many ways, this strange muscular mutation seemed to hurt as Sonic's tissues were pulled and broadened, but the outer pain was far more intense. Sonic snarled against so many negative influences, the electrical currents, the bizarre change he was undergoing, and the visual sight of the planet he had striven so hard to defend. Sonic's arms suddenly sprouted hair, blue fur that matched the rest of his body's natural tint, though it was a darker hue. Sonic's abdomen, usually a fairly hairless area grew into a wild and wooly patch of pale fur. Sonic's hands swelled up within the confines of his white gloves and stretched the fabric, first tight, then unbearable. Then, the material could not hold back the massive hands that had grown into them and split open and unraveled and eventually exploded in defeat. The stitches of the gloves were not durable enough to withstand the strain placed upon them, the fact that Sonic's ever-lengthening fingernails had frayed the insides and added to the end result. The nails increased in size and sharpness until they became claws. The hand also sprouted pale blue fur like his abdomen. Nothing about Sonic seemed to be unaffected by the strange metamorphosis. His ears, though pointy before, had been engorged to take the on the appearance of spear-tips. Sonic's naked muzzle grew over with the same pale blue fur as before. Sonic's height shifted as his spine telescoped outwards and upwards, adding to the uncomfortable nature of the situation. His eyes bulged up into the monstrous proportions.

The pain, the inexplicable bodily changes and the looming victory of Eggman were too much for Sonic, his growl soon crested into a terrifying roar that rattled off the walls. With his mouth open, one could even see that Sonic's canines, as well as his other teeth had assumed the appearance of horrific fangs. As his roar subsided, Sonic suddenly felt the cessation of his physical torments. The electricity simply cut off. Without the machinery in action, the Chaos Emeralds fell to the floor. They were dimmed and entirely drained of energy. Silence swept over the room, quickly – except for Eggman's maniacal laughter.

"Ho-ho-ho-ho-ho-ho-ho-ho-ho-ho-ho!!"

Sonic was too exhausted and needed to recover. Powerful lungs drew in deep, bear-like pants and groans as Sonic quietly recuperated.

"At last; at long-lived last, I've done it! Dark Gaia has been awakened! It's just as the texts had predicted!" Eggman postured and twisted in a fit of self-congratulatory glory, "Now, all I need to is harness the entity's awesome powers, and then the Eggman Empire will dominate every single inch of the world. There's nothing that can stop me now!"

"Did you forget about me?" grumbled a raspy voice.

Eggman chortled as he turned his eyes from the awesome sight of his triumphal hour to look at Sonic in his dimmest. Or, rather, looked like Sonic. But, Eggman knew the creature and his arch enemy were one and the same.

"Oh, Sonic," Eggman feigned concern, "you look all out of sorts. Such a look you have!" Eggman paused and sneered, "I think it suits you, though: Rough and rugged!" The Doctor cackled at the situation.

Sonic did not understand all that had happened. But, so long as he drew breath, he was not about to let Eggman get away with everything he had done. He would answer for what he had done. Though weakened, Sonic turned his new hulking body around to face Eggman and attack, the best he could.

"Unfortunately," Eggman sighed, "you've done everything that I needed you to do. So," as if he spoke to some guest that had overstayed their welcome, "I'm just going to have to show you the door. Ta-ta!"

With that, Eggman flopped down onto the seat inside his control module and sealed it off with a Plexiglas dome. Suddenly, behind Sonic, the main viewing window slipped open and the depressurization of the cabin sucked Sonic with the all the vacuum force that outer space could offer. Though his massive muscles offered new possibilities to hold on for longer periods of time, the punishment that his body had taken was too great and he could not maintain his grip. As his grip loosened and slipped entirely, Sonic, as well as the powerless Chaos Emeralds, were pulled out the window and drifted into the gravitational pull of earth. There was nothing to stop the fall.

Sonic plummeted to earth.

* * *

**G.U.N. Central Command, Central City Division, United Federation**

**Day 2**

**CUT-5; 17:40**

"The situation is beyond critical people. The Eggman space fleet is still operational in earth orbit, though disoriented. There has been no word of Sonic's whereabouts for some time now. Planet-wide earthquakes have ripped the entire earth apart and we are, somehow, still orbiting the planetary core. This may be because, according to our experts, the gravitational pull of the core is strong enough to hold the chunks in micro-orbit. Of course, they also say that the situation could deteriorate into total ecological breakdown at any moment. Most of our spy satellites have been knocked out of orbit, along with many telecommunications satellites. Our reach to units around the world is, thus, limited."

"Sir? What about the atmosphere and the oceans? Why are they still in place?"

"According to the experts, they'll need more time to figure it out, but they think that some sort of additional forces are at work; forces that cannot be readily examined and explained in basic scientific terms."

"In other words, you don't know."

SHADOW the Hedgehog stood stone still in the doorway, his face expressed his resentment of the situation and the lack of information that his supposed superiors had. His glare was meet by that of the Commander of G.U.N., a man of tall, lithe build, whose professionalism oozed out of his immaculate uniform, well-cut hair, and imperious eyes – eyes that bore the rare condition of heterochromatia. Though their lives had been… "Touchy" to say the least, they still had their moments of subdued camaraderie. This was not one of those moments.

"Shadow," the Commander stated, "keep calm. We're trying to sort this out."

"Calm? If you haven't noticed," Shadow hissed as he walked up to the Commander, "the world seems to be coming to an end. If I remember correctly, that is _not_ the time to be calm."

"I know, I know," the Commander sighed. "But, you know that without an idea of what's happening, we'd make matters worse by going off half-cocked."

An officer present spoke up, "But, Sonic's plan was always to take aggressive action at the first chance. If we wait around too long, we might end up with a total cataclysm on our hands."

Shadow stared the man down – impressive since he was only half his height and standing at the opposite end of the room from him – "Is Sonic here, right now?"

The other man flinched.

"No idea what's going on, then?" Shadow asked, his temper simmering, but not set to boil.

"Well, before our satellites in the area conked out, they were able to get images of this," the Commander motioned to a large flat-screen monitor mounted in the wall.

As the view-screen booted to life, a grainy video clip played of the fragmented earth, with a large monstrous entity hovering up over the North Pole and lashing about. Because of the poor quality of the image, combined with the ethereal nature of the creature, it was difficult to fully grasp its appearance. But its size was easy to understand: its hands seemed to cover whole nations. Soon, it twisted and twirled and faded away into an impervious purple haze that shifted and spread down from the Pole and drifted out over the damaged planet. Suddenly the feed cut out.

"What was that?" a lieutenant-general called out.

"Again, we don't know," the Commander spoke. "But, from what we can gather, the creature that we just saw seems to have control over large portions of the planet's physical structure. Ever since that mist – or whatever it is – started to spread, radio contact has been hit or miss. Sometimes we get through to outside units, sometimes… complete static. What satellites that weren't damaged by the initial disaster have been blocked and interfered with by this… force."

"How is this all possible? How'd it happen?" a colonel asked.

"Do you have to ask?" Shadow snidely retorted, "Eggman."

The room fell to mumbles.

"Gentlemen," the Commander raised his voice, "while we're aware that Eggman is the prime suspect, there is little we can do about it at this time. With our situation in doubt, everyone is to sit tight until further notice." His stony eyes drifted to Shadow, full of determination, "_Everyone_."

Shadow said nothing as his eyes coolly examined the Commander's face. Finally, "As you wish."

Shadow then walked out of the room and made his way to the infirmary.

* * *

**Master Emerald Shrine, Angel Island**

**Day Three**

**CUT+3; 05:45**

IF one word summed up their situation, it was "depressing."

Knuckles, as well as Captain Richards, the G.U.N. troop, and the Chaotix had somehow managed to all assemble at the Master Emerald shrine, by the thinnest skins of their teeth. But, this did not mean they were not without grievous damage. Espio the Chameleon, infiltrator par excellence was hurt and unconscious, along with several of the G.U.N. troop. Vector the Crocodile and Charmy Bee were the only active members of that team, though not without nicks and bruises – some rather large. The G.U.N. troop ran the gambit, with Captain Richards down in one leg and thus forced to sit atop the steps of the Emerald shrine, while the rest of the troop was mostly incapacitated with a few healthy exceptions. Knuckles had the best of it. Though, given the terrible shape that most everyone else was in made the statement less appreciable. The ground around the shrine was littered with hurt men, including Espio. At various levels of the shrine, soldiers had dug in with the best items they could find, ranging from stones of the shrine itself to tent-material – none of the soldiers were picky about whatever they could get their hands on.

Atop the shrine itself, Knuckles and Richards oversaw everything. Though they were surrounded, none of the creatures attacked. There were plenty of them, too. Not only had the smaller ones assembled in masses, but they were joined by monstrous worms, imposing giants, slithering snakes and all manner of frightful creatures that leaped out of a child's worst nightmare. Still, they all lingered, prepared to attack, but not offering the first movement to do so.

"What's gotten into them, Knuckles?" Richards asked, in his sitting position on a ledge of the shrine, with his pistol clutched in his hand. "They've got us. One good push and they'd take us out. Ammo's almost gone, over half of the troop is immobilized and your friends have seen better days."

"I don't know," Knuckles coolly stated as he stood with his arms crossed in front of the Emerald, on the side opposite to Richards on the shrine's summit. "But, it seems that the Master Emerald has them spooked."

"How?" Richards asked, a little frustrated, "It's a big glowing rock. Why does that scare them? Huh?"

"Yes, but the magic that helps it 'glow'," Knuckles chided, "is very powerful. They might be afraid to tamper with such forces."

"Maybe you're right. But, I still don't like this. It's like we're fish in a bowl with alley cats staring us down."

Knuckles smirked ever so slightly.

The sky slowly began to brighten. Then, a small beam of light popped up on the horizon. A low grunting sound was heard among the creatures as they milled about, all of their eyes turned to the east. Then, they all began to vanish: simply disappear from view and left no trace behind of their presence. Silence followed; stunned silence.

"_What in the world_!" Richards exclaimed.

"Where'd they go?" called out Charmy.

"It seems that daylight drove them away," Knuckles concluded.

"Really?" asked Charmy, by that time right beside Knuckles when he asked his question.

"Yes; maybe for the same reasons that they dislike the Master Emerald."

"Knuckles," Richards called the echidna over – which the latter did respond to – "now might be the best time to send some people to gather our supplies from out of the damaged camp: medicine, food and ammo."

"You got it," Knuckles nodded.

* * *

**Empire City Outskirts, United Federation**

**Day Two**

**CUT-5; 19:03**

TAILS and Amy did everything they could to get out of the city during the earthquake. But, what had truly shocked them was the sight of the splintered planet: large chunks from the earth's core and mantle as they drifted up into the air. Added to their despair was the complete and total absence of Sonic.

"What are we going to do?" Amy sounded near tears, which was understandable.

Tails fidgeted with the controls of the _Tornado_ a while. Finally, he responded, "I don't know, but once we're airborne, we're going to start by looking for clues as to what happened to Sonic."

"Good. I know Eggman's done something to him. I can feel it."

Tails could tell that without any extra-sensory perception. It was perceivable all on its own. But, Tails simply replied, "Me too."

The _Tornado_ rumbled to life as Amy prepared to hop aboard and slip into the co-pilot's seat in back. It was getting dark and she felt the slight chill that came with the air. She was glad there was a blanket stowed under the seat. It was then that she noticed the presence of a small creature a few paces away.

"Ew," Amy's face turned to disgust at the sight of the creature. "What is that?"

"What is what?" asked Tails as he casually looked around to find what Amy saw.

Before Amy could point the creature out to Tails, it locked eyes with her and emitted a shrill cry and charged straight for her. Without a moment's hesitation, Amy summoned her hammer and splattered the creature to dust in mid-air.

"_That_ thing!" Amy near shrieked.

"Oh boy…"

"What?"

Tails looked out to the edge of the field that the _Tornado_ rested in. They were surrounded by the cousin's of the creature that Amy obliterated. None of them seemed pleased about Amy's action, either. With a thick knot in his throat, Tails squeaked, "Well, time for takeoff."

The throttled was slammed forward and the engine kicked into high gear as Tails let the break off and they taxied forward. Creatures tried to jump onto the plane, but Amy used her hammer to systematically crush or block them. Finally, with much relief, they were airborne.

"What _were_ those things?" Amy wailed.

Visibly shaken, Tails replied over his shoulder, "I don't know. But, I have a feeling if we can find Sonic we'll be able to find out!"

**Master Emerald Shrine, Angel Island**

**Day Three**

**CUT+3; 06:30**

"Radio contact is out."

"Supplies?"

"Food: two days, plus island foodstuffs; ammo: minimal; medical: all used up. You've got some sort of herbal supplements, I hope, Knuckles?"

"Yeah, I can get you anything you need."

"It'd be a godsend if you could."

Knuckles, Richards, and Nielson – the supply sergeant – had held an impromptu meeting regarding their situation. For better or worse, they were in this for the long haul. It was then that Richards and Knuckles were left to themselves.

"So, we can stay here and tough it out with you?"

Knuckles smiled wryly, "Well, really, I don't think I have any control over that anymore."

"Thanks. For what it's worth, I'm sorry."

"For?"

"For not getting out of here sooner."

"I think that would have helped you more than it would have me," Knuckles's eyebrow added the proper feeling he wished to convey.

Richards chuckled, "Yeah, and I'm sorry I didn't to cabbage on that. What? You thought I was apologizing to you?"

Knuckles gave an honest laugh. "Gee, thanks," he replied with a sarcastic eye roll.

"You're a good host," Richards sighed wistfully. "You should have people over more often."

"What part of 'island of secrets' did you not understand?"

Richards did not want to reactivate Knuckles's deeply in-born sense of duty and xenophobia when he had made such headway, so he simply smiled slightly and nodded. "Sorry."

"So? We're stuck with each other?"

"It seems that way."

* * *

**G.U.N. Central Command, Central City Division, United Federation**

**Day 2**

**CUT-5; 18:22**

HE stood in the doorway, silent. She sat on the medical table as the doctor wrapped bandages the wounded area. When she was finished, the doctor got up, he thanked her, and the two were left alone.

"What do you think is going to happen, Shadow?"

"I don't know."

"It's bad isn't it?"

"Yes."

Silence was the place they found themselves in before long.

"Everything's so calm, for it to be so bad."

"Yes."

"I'm actually a little afraid; afraid that, when all this really settles in on my mind, I might just crack-up a little."

"Don't talk like that. You'd never do that."

"Yeah, and I bet somebody said that dragons wouldn't pop out of the earth and the world break up like a fake diamond."

Silence again.

"But, you are right, though. I've not went to pieces over anything else in my life. Why start now?"

Silence.

"Will you be back up and flying, soon?"

"Doctor said to give it a couple days."

A rare laugh, if grim, "Stuck at home with a busted shoulder and wing, while the world comes to an end."

She laughed harder.

* * *

**Unknown Location, Apotos**

**Day Three**

**CUT+2; 13:37**

STILLNESS.

In his mind's eye, he saw things. Eggman; beasts; falling; darkness – it all bounced around in his head. But, he slept rather peacefully, though his nagging mind would wander elsewhere.

His nose itched…

"Wake up."

Eggman laughed at him; was proud of his accomplishment…

His ear stung a little…

"Come on."

It was very cold as he fell, though he was covered in so much hair and quills…

"Now you're just being stubborn."

SLAP!!

Sonic jumped up into a sitting position when he was so forcefully brought out of his deep sleep. "What? Who? Ugh! My head…"

"You think yours hurts? You should try being under someone when they fall really far, really fast."

"Huh? Who's there?"

"Me."

"Uh… 'me'… who?"

"Actually, I was hoping you could tell me."

Sonic's face turned into an annoyed frown as he scoured around the immediate area for who was talking to him so condescendingly. He had enough on his mind as was. "Okay, show yourself. Are you some kind of prankster?"

"I don't know, am I?"

Sonic slowly looked up. He spied a pair of tiny white furry feet that led up to a pair of maroon legs and body. As his eyes and mind rolled over this person – he knew it had to be the speaker – he stopped his search when he met the person in the eye. When he fully examined him, at least he gauged "it" to be a "him," Sonic would swear he looked a dog-like creature in the face, _much_ smaller than himself: quite the feat since he was considered "small" himself. Yet, the stranger person stood over him and his feet did not touch the ground. Suddenly, the little man – or was he a boy? – floated around to Sonic's side. It was then that Sonic noted the tiny insect-like wings that fluttered on his back. It was official: Sonic had never seen anyone like this, before.

"I'm sorry, but are we done staring at each other?" the smaller of the two asked the larger.

"Huh?"

"It's just that it's not much fun."

"Wait. I'm sorry, but what did you say your name was?"

The maroon-dog-bug shrugged his tiny shoulders, "Don't you remember? I said I hoped _you_ knew."

"You don't know your own name?"

"Nope; at least not since you bopped me on the head."

"Wait. I did what?" Sonic was desperately confused.

"Uh-huh. I was flying through here last night and you tumbled down out of the sky and bopped me on the head. When I came to, that's all I could remember. So, I wanted to wake you up so you could tell me why you did that.

"Tumbling out of the sky?"

"Yeah, I think you might have actually been asleep, then, too. You sleep a lot."

Sonic massaged his forehead. He did not like what he was beginning to grasp in the little fellow's implications. He was not accusative toward Sonic, but the hedgehog did not like the idea that he may have accidentally caused some serious harm to someone.

"See, I was flying here, minding my own business, when you suddenly fell out of the sky and hit me. I fell down and took a nap for a while. When I woke up, I saw you were still around. But, you were kind of scary, so I didn't want to ask you about anything until you got yourself up. But, then, you suddenly looked nicer around the time the sun came up, so I figured you'd _be_ nicer and that I should wake you up."

Sonic groaned as he stood up and massaged his forehead. Yes, he _had_ hurt someone. He had to make it up to him. "Oh, jeez; I'm sorry, little guy. How about I take you home, huh? Maybe someone there can patch you up and help you to remember the stuff you've forgotten."

"That'd be nice," the little dog-creature smiled. Then, he frowned, "If I knew where home was."

Sonic smiled a little, "Hey, don't worry. I'm sure you must live around here somewhere. I'll help you to find your home and you'll get straightened out."

"Wow. For a guy that hits people on the head, you're pretty nice."

Sonic almost laughed at the absurd statement, "Hey. I'm Sonic the Hedgehog: it's kind of my thing."

"Sonic… That's a nice name," the dog-creature smiled.

"Thanks," Sonic warmly greeted back. Sonic felt nostalgia creep back to him as he realized how this was somewhat like his chance meeting with Tails. The dog was much too much like him not to see some form of resemblance. Sentimentality would have to wait.

"Come on, little guy," Sonic said as he scooped up the little dog-creature and cradled him in his harms, "we're going to help find your home."

"All right!"

Sonic realized that Eggman was on the loose, the world was in catastrophic danger, and that there was something seriously wrong with his body, but with his speed and a great deal of pity for the person he'd wronged, he felt that he could cut out of his duties for just a moment to help someone else in need. Besides, the moment he found his little companion's home, he'd get _right back_ to stopping Eggman and undo all of his evil deeds. After all, it was just like he told his friend, he was Sonic the Hedgehog.

…

…

…

…

…_**for now…**_

To Be Concluded in _Sonic Unleashed_…

_**Sonic the Hedgehog**_** and all related trademarks are copyrighted to the Sega Corporation.**


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